Mortar dispensing apparatus



Aug. 14, 1956 Filed March 17,- 1955 Fig.

G. R. SEARL MORTAR DISPENSING APPARATUS 5 Sheets-Sheet l Gamer R. Sear! INVENTOR.

Aug. 14, 1956 SEARL I 2,758,468

MORTAR DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed March 17, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Garner R. Sea/l INVENTOR.

Aug. 14, 1956 G. R. SEARL 2,758,468

MORTAR DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed March 17, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Gamer .Sear/ IN V EN TOR.

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* nited States Patent MORTAR DISPENSING APPARATUS Garner R. Searl, Patterson, Calif. Application March '17, 1953,.Serial No. 342,866

3 Claims. (Cl. 72-1128) This invention relates 'to new and useful improvements in mortar dispensers and the primary object of the present invention is to provide .a devicefor use in laying either solid or hollow concrete blocks, bricks, jbaked'tile, stone, or the like. r

Another important object of the present invention is to provide a carriage having a hopper portion from whence mortar will be discharged and novel and improved track means for the carriage "whereby the carriage may be moved over a course of blocks to dispense mortar onto the course of blocks which are at alltimes held'in a perfectlylevel and plumb position.

A further object of the presentinventi'onis to provide novel and improved means for retaining the carriage track in a level "horizontal position "so that an "even amount of mortar will be discharged onto a course of blocks supporting the track.

Yet another important object of' the present-invention is to provide a dispensing .apparatus'where'in the carriage is provided with downwardly spring urged'pressure rollers that will ride against opposite faces of a course of blocks to prevent mortar from being squeezed outonto theoutside of the wall.

Another feature of the present invention is the provision of smoothing rollers carried "by the carriage and riding against mortar discharged "from the hopper portion of the carriage so as to apply an even @amount of mortar onto the course of blocks being laid.

A still further aim of the present invention is to provide a mortar dispensing apparatus that is "extremely simple and practical in constructiom'sitrong and reliable .in use, neat and attractive in appearance, efficient and durable in operation, inexpensive to manufacture, service and maintain, and otherwise well adapted for the .purposes for which the same is intended.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more .fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had .to the accompanying drawings forming a part "hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which: V

Figure l is a front elevational view showing the present invention in use; t

Figure 2 is a top plan view of Figure 1;

Figure" 3 is a-transverse vertical sectional view taken substantially on the plane of section line 33 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is an enlarged longitudinal vertical sectional view taken substantially on the plane of section line 4-4 of Figure 2; V

Figure '5 is an enlarged transverse vertical sectional view taken substantially on the plane of section line 55 of Figure 1;

Figure 6 is an enlarged detail vertical sectional view taken substantially on the plane of section line 66 of Figure 1;

Figure 7 is an enlarged transverse vertical sectional view taken substantially on the plane of section line 77 of Figure 2; and,

Figure 8 is a perspective view of the transverse end members used in conjunction with the present invention.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, wherein for the purpose of illustration, there is disclosed a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the numeral 10 represents a pair of transverse, spaced parallel end members or rectangular rigid straps each of which is provided with a pair of depending lugs 12 on their lower edges and a pair of spaced notches 14 in their upper edges. The opposed faces of the end members 10 fixedly support nuts 16 that receivably engage vertical adjusting and leveling bolts 18 whose lower ends are vertically rotatably secured to horizontal seat-forming plates 20, as at 22.

A pair of spaced parallel substantially rectangular guide rails 24 extend between the end members. The end of the rails 24 are disposed in the notches 14 and rest upon the seat-forming plates '20, whereby the rails may be raised and lowered by the bolts 18 to retain the rails in a horizontal position both lengthwise and crosswise of the wall thus assuring that the bricks are laid perfectly level while the lugs 12 assure that the wall is plumb.

The rails 24 slidably support :a carriage 26 having a removable V-shaped hopper portion 28 that is provided with an outlet opening 30 at its apex that extends between the rails 24. A slide valve or plate 32, carried by the hopper portion 28,is movable to selectively open and close the outlet opening 34) as shown best in Figure 4 of the drawings. Carriage 26 is provided with an angle iron base 34 fixedly supporting -V-shaped angle iron side members 36 forming seats for the hopper portion'28.

'Baok-to-back vertical angle iron guides 38 are secured to each of the flat spaced parallel side walls of the hopper portion 28 and slidably receive the vertical edges of a mortar paddle or plate 40.

Holding straps 42 and 44 are secured to the base 34 of carriage 26. The straps 42 support the shaft 46 of a tracking and smoothing roller 48 and the straps 44 support the shaft 50of atracking and smoothing roller 52. :Rollers '48 and 52 are spaced parallel to each other and extend transversely and horizontally between the rails .24 with the shafts 46 and 50 resting upon the upper Walls .of the rails 24 so that the rollers 48 and 52 will smooth mortar left on :a course of blocks by the hopper portion.

Carriage base 34 is provided withinwardly turned horizontal flanged portions '54 to which vertical rods *56 are suitably ffixed; The rods 56 extend upwardly through longitudinal guide slots 58 in the bottom walls of rails 24 .and support dual wheel units 60 that track in the rails 24 between the side Walls of the rails and upon the bottom walls of the rails.

The supporting shafts 62 of pressing rollers 64 are hinged, as at 66, to the base 34 of carriage 26 for vertical swinging movement. The rollers 64 extend under the rails 24 with the adjacent portions of the rollers 64 tangential to the inner vertical walls of the rails 24 that they underlie, as shown in Figure 5, for a purpose presently to be described.

Means is provided for urging the hinges 66 against the .outer faces of the rails 24 and the rollers 64 under the rails 24. This means comprises upper and lower arm sections 68 and 70 that are pivoted together by horizontal pins 72. The arm sections 68 are fixed by welding or the like to the base 34 and the lower ends of the arm sections 70 support rollers 74 that engage the shafts 62. Coil springs 76 are terminally secured by any suitable means to the upper and lower arm sections 68 and 70, inwardly from the pins 72 and yieldingly urge the rollers 74 downwardly against the shafts 62 as illustrated in Figure 5.

Hand grips 78 are suitable fixed to the hopper portion 28 and provide means whereby the carriage 26 may be moved along the rails 24 between the end members as mortar is dispensed onto a course of blocks from the hopper portion.

The upper ends of one of the V-shaped side members 36 form ledges that will removably support a level 80, whereby the rails 24 may be adjusted by bolts 18 with the carriage 26 on the rails 24, to position the rails horizontally, the base 34 also removably supports a level 82 that'will extend transversely between and above the rails 24 whereby the rails may be adjusted to the same horizontal level.

In practical use of the present invention, the end members 10 are engaged over a course of blocks with the lugs 12 accommodating blocks of a lower course therebetween. The members 10 are disposed between adjacent blocks of the course of blocks to which mortar is to be applied. The bolts 18 are adjusted to level the rails 24 and retain the same horizontal.

The carriage 24, whose hopper portion 28 has been previously filled with mortar, is pulled or pushed along the rails 24 and the valve 32 is opened to permit mortar in hopper portion 28 to pass through opening 30 and on to the upper edges of the course of blocks being laid. The rollers 48 and 52 will smooth the mortar so that an even amount of mortar will be left upon the course of blocks being laid. In order to permit a larger amount of mortarto be applied to the course of blocks, the bolts 18 may be adjusted to raise the rails 24 a slight amount.

After the course of blocks has received mortar between the members 10, then the members 10 are removed and placed further along the wall being erected so that the rails 24 will again receive the carriage for the dispens ing of mortar onto a further section of the wall being laid.

The rails 24 are shown as being hollow for the purpose of accommodating the wheel units 60, the wheel units 60 may be replaced with hearings or rollers that will ride against an exterior surface of the rails 24 to reduce the time necessary in order to operatively engage the carriage with the guide rails 24.

From the foregoing, the construction and operation of the device will be readily understood and further explanation is believed to be unnecessary. However, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A mortar dispenser for block walls comprising a carriage, a pair of pressing rollers having supporting shafts pivoted to said carriage for vertical swinging movement,

means carried by the carriage engaging the shafts for yieldingly urging the pressing rollers against the side faces of a plurality of superimposed courses of blocks, said carriage being provided with a hopper portion having a valved outlet, said means engaging said shaft including upper and lower hingedly connected arm sections, said upper arm sections being fixed to said carriage, roller elements carried by the lower arm sections and spring means connecting the upper and lower arm sections and urging the roller elements downwardly against the shafts.

2. A device for applying mortar to block walls, said device comprising a pair of spaced parallel transverse end members adapted to straddle a course of blocks, said end members each having a pair of spaced notches, a pair of spaced parallel rails extending between said end members and into said spaced notches, means for vertically adjusting the rails in said notches for horizontal alignment, a carriage supported on said rails, said rails having inner vertical walls, pressing rollers carried by said carriage under the rails and adapted to ride against the side faces of a plurality of superimposed courses of blocks against which the inner vertical walls of the rails are adapted to be engaged, said pressing rollers having supporting shafts, means vertically swingably attaching the shafts to the carriage, means on the carriage engaging the shafts to urge the same downwardly and the pressing rollers under the rails, said carriage including a flanged portion underlying the rails, vertical rods fixed to and extending upwardly from said flanged portions, said rails being hollow and having lower walls provided with longitudinal slots receiving said rods, wheels riding in said rails, and said rods being suspended from said wheels to support said carriage.

3. A mortar dispenser for block Walls comprising a carriage, pressing rollers supported on the carriage, resilient means yieldingly urging said pressing rollers inwardly for engaging the side faces of a plurality of superimposed courses of blocks, said carriage being provided with a hopper portion, said carriage including underlying flanged portions, vertical rods fixed to said flanged portions, said carriage riding on wheels, said wheels being adapted to ride on a rail support to support the carriage above the said support, said rods being suspended from said wheels.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 303,501 Earth Aug. 12, 1884 669,220 Knight Mar. 5, 1901 741,507 Knight Oct. 13, 1903 1,736,812 Youngblood Nov. 26, 1929 1,833,582 Kavanagh Nov. 24, 1931 2,481,021 Kempthorne Sept. 6, 1949 2,591,377 Sadler Apr. 1, 1952 2,674,116 Erp Apr. 6, 1954 

